An Angel's Guide
by EderNimrais
Summary: Hatred can't be born without a cause. In Murmina's heart, it burns with the force of a supernova, just waiting to be unleashed at the cause of it. Rex realizes that this hatred will lead to her death but also destroy any chance of him learning how to be a proper Harpuia like his mother. The ultimate question in this problem is, who is the angel and who is the guide? Story Revamp.
1. Chapter 1 - The White Hero

The sun shined through the window of a certain man whose eyes were beginning to open while still in bed. His emerald eyes gleamed in the reflection of the sun as he moved his right hand over his eye to help him see better. His left hand lifted from underneath the bed covers and stretched in the air as he awoke. A yawn slipped from his lips and his eyes closed by instinct. He wore for the first time in a very long time a white t-shirt.

"Already morning, I presume?" said Rex as he lifted his upper torso from the bed and looked out the window.

The light he saw signaled the renewed emergence of the sun over their world. Rex felt an eerie presence on his back as he looked and found that his sense of direction with his wings was coming back to him. He moved his right hand to touch the tips of his gift and rubbed it gently, not wanting to harm it.

Rex grabbed the sheets covering his lower body and moved them aside to free his legs, revealing the pajama bottoms he almost never used, as his journey rarely allowed him the pleasures in life such as a comfy bed and night-time clothing. Swinging his legs over the side of the bed, he stood up properly. He then walked towards the bathroom, opening the door, walking in, and closing it behind him.

"Let's see… there's my shirt, now where are my pants…? Here we are. Now for the socks, gloves and boots… Alright, and now to get this jacket on."

The door reopened, revealing a Harpuia, now more suitably dressed. His hair was Peruvian brown and his emerald eyes completed his facial features. The pants and boots were solid liberty blue and his jacket had matched chest and inner sleeves blue accents as well. The shoulder and waist were pearl white, as was the belt he wore.

His wings were tucked away underneath the jacket in such a way that no one would be able to notice a bulge on his back. Rex walked out of the room and reached for the iconic sword of his father and fore-fathers for the last four generations until his own.

The sword that brought the end to the war on Lucrellia, the blade of a traitor which ended the tyranny of Grugund's elite, that lead to the bringing of peace for Graccea, the weapon of choice for the hero and protector of Fendias who, to his credit, saved the lives of those who were unable to do it themselves and brought two lovers together, despite all the odds. It was the instrument of one of the greatest shipmates to ever sail on the seas of Enhambre. The name mattered little compared to the one who wielded the golden blade, and now it was in his possession to use.

Rex took the blade's sheath and strapped it to his back, placing the sword inside the scabbard. He looked himself in the mirror and approved. Turning to the door which led to the hallway, He opened it to leave the room walking until he reached a stairway leading down to the ground floor.

Touching the ground floor in the bar, he saw a bartender in the corner of the inn the crew was staying in. Rex greeted the bartender and continued forward towards the exit. Reaching the door, he bumped into arguably the most important person in his childhood and, possibly, life. He looked down and saw nothing but pink hit his chest until the woman looked up.

"Ahh… hello, Ellis. Sorry, I wasn't paying attention," Rex said, moving aside so the elf could enter the inn.

"Were you daydreaming again? I thought we fixed that years ago," teased Ellis with a motherly smile on her face. "Say, you do look a little out of it, are you okay?"

"Huh, ya, I'm fine. Actually, could you tell me if you have seen Murmina by any chance?"  
He asked his mother figure, who looked at him, puzzled. "And what do I obtain from telling you this?"

"The satisfaction of helping me, Ellis." Rex told Ellis, who rolled her eyes at the answer. "Still, have you seen her anywhere? I need to speak with her about a certain topic."

"Your wings, I presume?"

Rex did not reply to the question, only shifting his eyes towards the direction of the bartender who was busy with his own duties. Ellis slapped her face with her right hand at the stupidity of her comment. The elf apologized for her choice of words and explained that Murmina was currently at the indoor firing range in town, practicing once more.

The hybrid thanked his mother figure and began walking in the direction of the range. Rex felt the winds coming off the sea to the south, blowing on his body as he walked down the streets of Lingen. Despite the ever increasing need to get to their other two destinations to prevent either the destruction of one country or the capture of a key fortress, Rex knew that his team, more importantly his army, needed to recover after the hellish battle for Kaluni Kahla.

Word had gone out throughout the country about the bravery and heroism of Rex and his comrades, causing many of the people who recognized him as he walked to come up to him, wishing to hear every detail about his encounters. Although Rex did not mind such attention, he did not like that it was a false attention, as he could not show his true self to the public.

Despite being half Harpuia by blood, Rex was, at a very young age, disregarded by his fellow brethren on Enhambre as impure and an outcast, despite his mother and father. Additionally, on Aegisthus, the last and most powerful tribe of Harpuia was eradicated AT the hands of Vashtor and his dark armies. Because of this, Rex had to adopt THE mask of being a pure human and not a hybrid of any type. Also, Rex had no advance knowledge on how to use his wings for any means so he HID them to prevent any form of leverage BEING used against him in battle.

However, with the emergence of one survivor of the Ura-Luk tribe, the opportunity for Rex to learn how to finally use his mother's gift could finally be realized. Still, he had to get Murmina to agree to train him, which could easily result in a very quick and decisive no. Yet, the boy of mixed blood had to try and try he would.

* * *

Rex was looking at the sign in front of the door which he read out loud. "Danger, possibility of stray bullet and flying casings. Put on the safety glasses and ear muffs to your right before entering." He looked to his right and found a black pair of ear muffs and a set of crystal clear glasses. He took one of each and placed them on his face. With each safety placed on his face, he opened the door, the smell of gunpowder greeting his nose. Rex saw hundreds upon hundreds of shells on the floor with the shooter holding the firearm down range, still as a statue.

"Rex!" A voice called out to the newcomer as he turned to find the other gunslinger in the group sitting in what appeared a desk in the corner.

"W-Winfield? Why are you behind a desk in an indoor firing range?" Rex asked as he began walking to] his comrade.

"I need to make my own money somehow since you refuse to allow me to have any."

"And for good reason too…" Rex commented to himself as he began to notice a small smile slowly creep up Winfield's devious face. With a chill beginning to settle in his spine, Rex asked "What are you thinking…?"

Rex's fears were extremely justified as detailed accounts from both Ellis and Plum stated that whenever Winfield had an idea, you had best be prepared for everything and anything. Rex took a gulp and braved himself for the response. Instead of giving words of idiocy or perverseness, Winfield rose up from his seat and began to walk towards Rex, causing the boy to feel slightly uncomfortable.

"Hey Murmina, I have a surprise for you." Winfield said as he got behind Rex while the newest member of the crew turned from the firing range to look at what the man was talking about.

"Winfield, what are you-"

Rex started, but Winfield grabbed his jacket's zipper at the top, quickly running it down to the bottom, bypassing the bandoleer that held the sword, releasing the connection to each side of the coat. Rex quickly grabbed the sides of his coat to prevent the man from removing it.

"Off with the jacket, Rex!"

Winfield declared with a shout as he began to tug at the piece from behind, wanting nothing more but for things to get extremely interesting between the other two. Rex demanded that Winfield release him, to which the gunslinger said that Rex would thank him later for doing such a service. Rex felt his jacket slowly slipping from his fingertips as Winfield had the better gripping and position. With a final burst of his manly strength, Winfield unleashed his power on the boy and ripped the jacket clean from his grip.

Rex felt like his very identity was being stripped away from his being like blade from its scabbard. His eyes opened up as his momentum from his fight made him fall forward towards the cold flooring. He slowly turned in mid-motion to see Winfield's grin reach new bounds. However, his attention drew on Murmina, the only pure blood left on this continent. Rex fell onto the cement flooring with his tail wings nailing it first. The contact with the cold floor caused his upper wings to react to the introduction of such temperatures and made them expand.

"White…"

All Rex heard was just one word before he saw a firearm let go from Murmina's hand. Her eyes told everything about what type of emotion was coursing through her body, astonishment. The gun touched the cement and went off upon hitting the floor without any regard to any one persons well being. Winfield jumped at the sound of the weapon going off but saw that neither Rex nor Murmina flinched, not even look in the direction of where it set off. Both bird people just looked at each other; Rex for how Murmina would respond after say the tint of all colors, Murmina for her mind taking in the information not being processed.

Finally, after a minute of silence, Murmina's lips parted from each other and spoke. "Your wings… they are white…" Those five words were all that came from her mouth before closing once more.

"Yes, they are," Rex responded and rose up to his feet to look at the woman on even footing. "which is why I came here, looking for you."

"Because of the color…?" Murmina's voice showed caution, not truly trusting the male before her who only just saved her a few days ago.

"No, not just that…"

"Then what?"

"Because Rex here," Winfield began, throwing his left arm around the back of Rex's neck like they were best friends. "Knows absolutely nothing about his wings, the meaning, hell, he doesn't even know how to fly with them unlike his mother."

Rex threw the left arm of Winfield off his body while snatching his coat back. "That's enough, Winfield." The Raglan said and quickly placed the jacket back on him upper body, including the hiding of his wings. This action greatly put Murmina's mind to ease by their disappearance. "Murmina, I need your help." He said, walking over to her and picked up the firearm and offered it to her.

The lone female quickly retrieved the weapon and placed it in her right holster. She then looked at Rex's emerald eyes and saw nothing that would make her want to reject his plea. "I suppose this is payment for saving me. Fine, I shall assist you in learning how to properly use your wings. Meet me in the Lingen City Gate in thirty minutes. Murmina told the boy and began walking to the door before turning to face the hybrid. "And come with your wings out, otherwise, I shall not help you." And with that, she opened the door and left the building.

"What do you think she means by that?" Winfield asked, moving his eyes to look at Rex whose face knew exactly what she meant.

"She wants me to feel comfortable with me having them out in the open."

"Which… says to the people that, in fact, you lied to them about your true self? Quite a risky situation to put yourself in just to learn how to fly, huh?" Winfield quickly turned his head to look over all the brass that Murmina went through in her shooting; the brass he would have to clean up.

* * *

Murmina leaned against a pillar with her eyes closed. The sound of children laughing and parents caring for their young ones made Murmina sick due to them not realizing how much was sacrificed just so they could walk in this city without worry. Having heard the discussions from Rex and his majesty, the country is protected to a point where it could send troops to the greater fight.

Her head moved to the outside fields and ocean on the rim of the horizon. The idea that humanity would at least be fitting this war united is still an idea to Murmina, not believing that they would be so willing to put aside small differences just to face a common foe. She used her hawk-like eyes to look on in the distance to see the weather was going to become bad. Estimating the arrival and wind speed, she gauged that the two had two hours of sunlight before the storms took over.

"That is, if he does show up."

Murmina softly spoke, trust being an issue still. She turned her head at the sound of footsteps and found a man in blue and white walking to her. What's more, she saw the one requirement for Rex to become her student. The woman remained silent as the half-breed came closer to her.

"Hello, Murmina."

"I see you have followed my instructions after all."

Murmina commented, getting a slow nod from Rex. She turned her back to her commander and began walking out of the city. "Let's go…" She told Rex, who sprinted to her side as the two made their way to the roads leading out of the city area.

* * *

**Author's Notes – **A little side project for a certain person I know. Who that person is, I will not divulge the details unless he or she wants their name identified.


	2. Chapter 2 - The Black Avenger

Rex and Murmina sat in the center of a field, surrounded by age old trees. The two Harpuia sat in front of one another; neither takes their eyes of the other. Rex could feel a presence within Murmina that made his spine shiver. He knew exactly what the feeling was; he and his family have been fighting it for over a century. Nevertheless, he refrained from speaking about it, seeing the smaller details of no importance as of now. Murmina rose up to her feet and started walking to Rex.

"I need to examine your wings, raise them for me."

Murmina spook and got behind the hybrid man who did as he was instructed. She looked over every detail and found they were of equal condition to her own. Rex felt a change of atmosphere come from his comrade as she began feeling the texture of his wings. She touched the most sensitive feathers on his wings, causing Rex to gave off a soft cry.

This reaction was all the bird woman needed. She released her hands from his wings and told Rex to get to his feet. Rex rose up to his and noticed that Murmina was walking in front of him. As the girl stood before him, she turned her back to him, instructing the boy to follow her wing gestures. Rex realized something about her wing sizes and mental slapped himself.

"Murmina, why is it that the top wings are smaller while our lower wings are much larger?"

"It is to equal out the weight of our bodies."

"How so?"

Murmina gave a sigh, away from his sight as she began to explain. "The middle body is heavier than the lower body due to the organs in the stomach. As such, the larger pair of wings is located there to allow for the distribution of weight to be lessened. The upper pair is used for direction and in-flight motions like turning."

"And such details I will need to know?"

"Exactly. Now, follow my wing patterns as I shall show you a basic motion."

Murmina said and began to slowly move her lower wings up and down. Rex looked at her back muscles and noticed that it was her shoulders that were moving the bottom wings and not the upper portion. Rex started thinking that the top wings were, for the most part, locked in place with her bones, to prevent complication while flying. He followed her gestures and quickly realized his feet were beginning to stop touching the ground. Rex looked down and saw himself rising up into the air.

A meager chuckle came from Rex's mouth which caused his comrade to turn around and find the boy floating with the help of his wings. Rex could see a look of disbelief and, above all for him, a hidden anger on her face but she refused to show it. As Rex slowed his muscled down and touched the dirt once more, he pondered on why she was this way as of now.

"Murmina, is there a problem?"

He asked the woman who did not answer him, all she did was glare at his wings with resentment which in turn, drew to him as a whole. Rex asked the question once more but he saw a flicker of fire ignite from her eyes which only compelled the flame to grow in size. Rex blinked his eyes and saw immediately that his teacher, comrade, and newest friend was drawing her pistol from the holster. His sixth sense, passed on by his mother, alerted him to the very real possibility of harm as the barrel drew ever so closer to his body.

Not taking any chances, Rex threw his right arm forward to grip the barrel and redirect it upward to the cloudy sky. The sound of gunfire rang into the ears of both warriors as Rex looked at Murmina's golden yellow eyes and discovered that they overflowed with every emotion of evil intention. Murmina took her right foot and kicked Rex in the stomach. Refusing to endanger either himself or Murmina, Rex endured the onslaught of kicks until she finally hit him hard enough to get him to roll away from her.

Just as Rex lost his grip on the barrel, he took his index and middle finger on his left hand and jabbed the hand of Murmina holding the firearm, causing the lady to release her weapon. Rex took this as his chance and grabbed the pistol grip of the handgun as he began to roll away. Murmina realized the move and began running at the target. Rex managed to get back to his feet when he noticed that Murmina came charging at him with a killer's aura. Refusing to harm the last Harpuia of Aegisthus, Rex entered into a hand to hand duel while holding the gun in his right hand and trying to block all her attacks; a strategy that easier said than done.

Rex was shouting all this time for Murmina to come back to her senses as he took a strong jab to the face for his trouble. The sudden pain made him lose the handling of the pistol. Noticing this, he kicked the weapon with his left foot away from the action to prevent it from being a hazard anymore. Murmina saw an opening and went to get a strong punch in his kidney.

"Got ya."

Rex exclaimed as he faked the opening to get his own. The punch flew past him as he gripped the right hand to force Murmina down to the ground; although he did not mean to do so in such a brutal matter. Rex locked Murmina's legs together in a hold with him having the advantage. However, he did not apply pressure to the hold due to not wanting to hurt his friend anymore than he already has.

"Get a hold of yourself, Murmina!" Rex shouted at the woman below him.

"You would never understand!"

Rex kept his lips sealed as whimpers began to come from the victim of the hold. With his enhanced hearing, he heard her say those words again and again. "You are right, I would never understand; not unless you tell me. Please, I don't want to hurt you anymore than I already have."

"You're lying, everyone with those colors don't care about us!"

Her words began to make sense as he lessened his grip on Murmina who turned her head to see his expression. His looked showed of a caring man who wanted nothing more but to help a person in need. He removed the leg lock and finally his handle on Murmina's hand. Rex moved his body a third of a yard away from Murmina who began to get herself up. She moved her head to look up and see Rex holding her pistol; more importantly, offering it back to her.

"But… how, why?"

"Murmina," Rex said, moving closer to her and placed the handgun on her lap. "I cannot judge you just solely by your actions you her demonstrated just now. But I need to know, what do the colors mean?"

Rex's question hit the person opposite of him harder than anything that has been on obstacle to her. With a deep breath, she said "Very well… do you know what white and black represent?"

"White is normally seen and purity and cleanliness. Black however, is treated with death, destruction, doom, fear and sorrow. Good and Evil."

"You have the gist of it, Rex. This is the meaning of how the lives of those in my clan once followed. Those with black wings such as I are doomed to fighting on the front lines and die on them. White wings are seen as the officials, those of higher class used their natural born colors to use my kind in laborious tasks while they participated in luxurious events."

"So when you saw me, the first thing you thought of was that I am no different from the people who used those with black wings?" Rex asked and got a nod from Murmina who moved her hands to the pistol sitting on her lap. He noticed that her grip on it tightened as she looked down. "Murmina, you have walked a very horrible path, one I would never wish to walk personally."

"It… it's because of him!" She shouted the last part and she grip stiffened , a sight Rex did not miss.

"Vashtor…" His voice came off with slight hints of resentment but not even close to the levels as Murmina.

"I have to kill him; he has to pay for everything he has done to my friends and family!"

"…and then what?" Rex asked Murmina who looked at him as if he was an idiot. "If you were to kill Vashtor, what would you do next, revenge solves nothing. It's not too late for you."

"What is there for me?! Killing him will avenge everyone and everything that has suffered in these past two decades! He is the first step on the path towards true peace!" Murmina shouted at Rex who remained silent to her decree of how peace and prosperity would come about.

Rex would not show it on his face, but inside, he was crying for this girl. "_Pain means nothing to her. Her hate was stronger than her flesh… her thirst for revenge would end up being her doom, even if she managed to end Vashtor… Vashtor…" _he thought in his head, remembering the stories of how the gurg was to his past three family members.

"I will-"

Murmina's lips sealed as she felt a pair of arms wrapped around her. She looked to find that Rex pulled her into a hug, a hug which she has never had before in her entire life. A feeling of… true peace, embodied her and the emotions in her body.

"I don't want you to suffer alone, I want to see you be happy, to smile."

Rex said, holding the hurting girl who has lost everything dear. Murmina sat there, dumbfounded by the gesture of kindness being given to her. The emotion running through her was a foreign as a person from another continent. Slowly, she rose up her hands and wrapped them together which gave the emotion more strength inside of her body. A feeling she has not felt in so long began to creep up but she could not realize what it was.

* * *

In the stronghold of Dandalugan Fortress were two souls. One of these souls was on his knees from the intense battle they shared while the other stood with his blade pointed at the throat of the gurg. Behind the victor were a group of friends and comrades, each being told to not participate in the battle. To many in the group, it was a shock that their commander obtained victory from the monster that is called the Gurg King.

"I win." Rex said, the sword of his family pointing at the throat of the traitor.

Vashtor looked up with his black and yellow eyes at the boy, now a grown man. He did not say anything, only wondering how he could have lost to someone who was beneath him in everything from skill to strategy. The Gurg then felt the tip of the Sword of Oath be removed from his throat and found the blade return to its scabbard on Rex's back.

"Finish it." Vashtor said, demanding this fight to at least be concluded.

"No." Rex replied, baffling the knight by his refusal to end the suffering he cause.

"Then I will."

Rex felt his spine become as cold as ice as the sound of a hammer being cocked on a gun ringed in his ears. To the shock of Vashtor, Rex turned his back to him and faced the Harpuia who had her gun aiming directly at Rex who stood in the way of a clean shot. The two bird people stared at one another, the lady not showing that she will move her gun away while the male did not show signs of moving away.

Murmina shouted at Rex to move aside or else she will shoot him to get to her target. This caused everyone near to Murmina to try and take the firearm away from the friend, only to be stopped by Rex's command. Ellis looked at the commander as if he lost his mind but followed his orders. Rex knew very well that he was in a very unique position as he could very well be shot.

"Move, or I will shot you."

"If I can't save one person in this world, then how can I save this world? If that is the case, I deserve to die."

Rex responded, setting the stage what could be a second battle inside Dandalugan Fortress. The answer came as Rex noticed that Murmina's hand began to shake violently, emotions beginning to overtake her hatred. Rex saw that her eyes were conflicted on what to do; kill the man who caused genocide of her people, or don't and save her friend from suffering in pain of having a bullet in him.

However, Murmina's right index finger slipped and the trigger got pulled, causing the firearm to release a bullet. In the matter of seconds, the entire situation of the mission has drastically changed. Blood started running from the open wound, located on Rex right shoulder. The right shoulder section of his coat began to turn red as he fell to one knee from the pain that was bequeathed to him. However, Rex refused to move from his spot in front of Vashtor, proving his words were not just talk.

Rex saw in Murmina's eye that sorrow hit her harder than anything before. "How can I kill you, you are the only person who truly wanted to see me happy?"

He knew that by her saying those words, he finally got to her; be it, with a gunshot to his shoulder but to him, it was worth it to see Murmina partially put aside her revenge. Still, the entry and exit holes in his shoulder were indeed beginning to hurt. Rex turned his body to face Vashtor once more and held out his left hand, offering him another chance of redemptions, an option, he accepted.

* * *

Rex sat alone with a fire in front of him. The starry night sky brought light to the over wise glooming evening. Off in the distance stood Barzakh, also known as the City of the Dead, Summerill's impenetrable fortress, and the place of the final battle. Rex knew that with Vashtor on their side, the chances of victory have greatly increased with the dark lord's greatest assets having betrayed him. Rex knew that tomorrow would be the hardest day of his life and he should be asleep, conserving his energy.

This proved nearly impossible as the many feelings and emotions that come from this battle are causing his nervous to go crazy. If he is defeated, then the other four continents will be doomed along with this one as well. Defeat meant the work of his father and forefathers would be for nothing but nearly a century of peace that comes to a crashing halt by the hands of Summerill. Doubt did not fill Rex's head, he believed he could fulfill the deed. No, he was worried if everyone would make it out alive and the same.

The hybrid sighed and looked at the embers in the fire. The camp stood a few minutes from his current position which meant he would not be disturbing anyone how might be sleeping. That is… if anyone can sleep with everything going on. He knew that the ladies are fast asleep, his uncle, Zerva, would be finishing his watch along with Alberti. Borgnine most likely is outside of Ellis' tent while Ganz probably fell asleep on a pile of his finest weapons. Knowing Winfield, the man is probably thinking about Rachel, the ex-fiancé and how he might be meeting he tomorrow. The details of Arbol and Fer were beyond Rex at this point but he imagined they were doing their own separate thing.

"_Leonhardt, Ladius, Thoma, father, am I doing the right thing, bringing them along with me to the final battle? Would it be better to do this alone by fighting Summerill alone and not have them suffer any pain?"_ Rex asked the fire, expecting nothing to happen. What he found was the fire grew in size for a ment before returning back to its normal state. He smiled and said. _"I thought so; they would follow after me if I tried something like that. That, and Ellis would scold me for leaving them to fight such a dangerous battle alone… alone."_

Rex began to ponder about the thought of being alone. After the final battle, he expected he would follow the same fate of his family and-

"_Wait…"_ Rex stopped his train of thought and pondered the meaning of the sealing. Then, as if a lightbulb lit up in his mind, a hole in Dyshana's logic surfaced about the reason behind the sealing. _"If what she said at the Malane Way is… she's been-"_

"Rex?"

The Harpuia snapped out of his thought and turned to find Murmina walking towards him. He saw that she came without her firearm. She walked over to his right and asked if she could sit next to him, which he allowed. Murmina took a seat directly next to Rex, her left arm touching his right. The two looked at the fire as it continued to bring warmth to them on the night of one of the most horrific battles of Aegisthus.

"Tomorrow will decide everything, correct?" Murmina started, asking Rex.

"Yes, tomorrow will decide if we will live or die."

"I see… Rex?"

"Yes, Murmina?"

"How… how is the injury I inflicted on you doing?"

Rex smiled as he ran his left hand fingers over the scar where the bullet entered his shoulder and ricocheted off his bone and out the top. "It has healed perfectly. You do not need to worry about it. How are you holding up, knowing what tomorrow will bring?"

"If you asked me that when we first met, I would have said I am satisfied that I finally get to murder the one who killed my tribe." Said Murmina who turned her head and looked at Rex with a smile. "But know, I am just happy I get to spend this time with you. I owe you so much for everything you have done for me."

"Beatrice and everyone else has been helping you during this entire adventure, I have just played my part in it."

Murmina slowly shook her head at his logic and said "But you were the first to truly care about me, when you were a simple student and I was the teacher. You have come a long way from just flapping them around aimlessly."

"Hey, I take that as an insult, thank you very much." Rex complained, getting a laugh from Murmina which sent his heart aflutter. "I am glad I could help you become such a happy person, despite having such difficult obstacles."

"Thank you…"

Said Murmina as she leaned her head softly on the leather jacket that Rex had. He did not respond to her action, only letting her rest comfortably while she had the opportunity. After all, rest would be a luxury that none of them would most likely not be able to afford.

* * *

With a gust of concentrate dark wind, Summerill blasted Ellis off her feet and towards one of the pillars than contained numerous spike on it. The High Elf looked behind her in mid flight and saw that the aim was to kill her by impalement. Just before hitting the spike, she felt two hands grab onto her and move her out of the way. Ellis looked up and saw that Rex flew in to save her from being stabbed. She saw his face was of exhaustion, having to fight the main bulk of gurgs during this ordeal of the day.

Sweat ran down Rex's face, knowing he does not have the strength left to continue this slug fest with the remaining gurg and Summerill. A demonic laugh came from the lord of darkness as he taunted the hero, saying that saving such filth, he exerted himself to a state where he can hardly hold the blade. Despite not wanting to believe it, Rex knew that he was rapidly losing energy.

Still, the Hapruia refused to surrender and ordered Ellis to fall back. The High Elf looked at Rex like he was out of his mind but she then noticed a sparkle in his eyes, indicating he has a plan. Looking at where his eyes were staring at, Ellis saw that Murmina was hidden in the top corner of the room while Vashtor was behind a statue, waiting. She raised an eyebrow but then it happened as she began to run out of the room.

"Now!"

Rex shouted and extended his wings to their greatest height. He took a step forward and then blazed forward in flight, flying near the ground with his blade in his right hand. The gurg dashed to intercept Rex and went in to chop his head off. Ellis cried out for him to move but noticed a purple blade having blocked the red one. She looked and found that it was Vashtor who blocked the attack.

"I will free you from you enslavement, my friend." Vashtor said and decimated the gurg with one slash, forcing it to fall to the ground, not moving.

Rex continued to fly closer to the ground as Summerill activated an earth spell to skewer the man with stalagmites. However, the row of earth colons that rose from the ground each got destroyed by Murmina's precise marksmanship. As she shouted that she had to reload, a stalagmite rose from the ground but Rex sliced the spell in half with his blade.

As he drew closer to the dark lord who plagued his family for generations, Murmina dove in to position herself behind the target as a dark runic symbol appeared in front of Summerill. From the symbol came Vashtor, blade in hand and no signs of rethinking his position. His face showed one of a true force of darkness, instead fighting the one who bestowed such demonic powers. Vashtor began to become shrouded in an aura of light as it showed Summerill the image of Vashtor hundreds of years ago when he once was a larva of light. The sword only further added to the image as it was the same blade in the past.

"You have commited sins beyond that which any god would allow in this world, corrupted larva of light and me through temptation. For these deeds and countless others, I will finish this as Leonis did long ago and begin my path of redemption!"

Vashtor shouted as Summerill remember that name of the boy who brought him to his knees in ages past. Summerill looked for an escape from Vashtor's range. He turned to the right and found Murmina floating with two identical guns, an aura that also cloaked her in similar fashion to Vashtor.

"You who have ordered the deaths of thousand, caused a race to nearly become extinct, brought ruin to the world we cherish and killed my family and friends, I will not let you escape, not while life still run through me!"

Murmina exclaimed, her words as powerful as anyone bullet she could launch. Summerill turned to the left to where the exit was located but found the strongest and most deadly of the three standing between him and the only way out. Rex floated with his snow white wings, the sword of oaths in front of him. His eyes were closed as the aura of light began to cover him.

"You who have brought chaos and disorder to this world, forced my family to accept being sealed away to stop a raging evil and destroyed five separate generations, your life ends here and now."

Rex calmly said as he opened his emerald eyes and Summerill's fear flashed before his multiple eyes. The sword of oaths ignited in a brilliant glow that vanquished every gurg that stood before it's wielder in the past and sealed him away with it. Rex shouted that this is where it ends as he and Murmina soared up to the air while Vashtor began to swing his violet blade at the source of all evil in Agarest.

"For those how have perished." Rex, Murmina and Vashtor said in unison as the dark knight swung the blade upward to send Summerill into the sky below the two Harpuia. "For those who are suffering." Murmina took her dual pistols and aimed them at the location where Summerill reach his height while Rex released the sword of oaths and channel light and darkness in his hands to form an energy blade. "And for those yet to come."Rex unleashed a wave of energy from the summoned sword while Murmina launched two beams from the pistols which emerged into one. "We will not loss!" They proclaimed together as the energy wave hit Summerill, causing him to spin to face the beam of death.

"Bolero of Passion!"

The hero, the avenger and the traitor exclaimed as the beam from Murmina struck Summerill so hard that the monster slammed against the floor and the tiles below him flew off. Summerill screamed, declaring that he is a god and that he could not be defeated by rabble such as this. As the beam began to dissipate, the body of the lord of darkness began to evaporate like water until nothing remained but a small crater.

Rex and Murmina gently touched down on the ground and walked, side by side, to the crater where Vashtor had met up with the two. "Is it over?" Murmina asked the other two.

"I cannot sense any dark energy that resembles Summerill." Vashtor said, being the most intoned to the monster's dark powers. He sheathed the greatsword as his Res his own sword and Murmina did with her pistols

"Then it is finally over. After one-hundred years of war, it is finally over."

Rex said, the realization of the end hitting him the hardest. Vashtor simply nodded, turning around and beginning to walk away from the two, saying that he must search for the remaining gurg and release them from the bindings that Summerill still held. He told the two that only he could do it and exited the room, leaving the two bird people alone.

The hero looked at Murmina with a smile and said "What do you plan on doing now? Summerill is defeated and your revenge is complete."

"Simply," Murmina replied and grabbed Rex's right hand. "I want to spend the rest of my life with the man I love, you."

"I would have it no other way."

* * *

"And that is how your father and I officially began dating which ultimately led to our marriage."

A now older Murmina said as she held a book containing pictures of the past adventures she and her friends shared. On her lap sat a ten-year old boy girl by the name of Marisa. She shared many of her mother's traits such as the eyes, hair and face. However, the greatest surprise to the parents is that wings were a silver color; a trait that Murmina told her husband was a rarity for a Harpuia.

"That is so cool, Mom, I never knew you and Dad were so amazing."

"Your Dad is an amazing person. He has a way of always being able to say the right things and being able to have a person want to follow him."

"What happened next?" Marisa asked, leaning on the chest of Murmina.

"Well, afterwards, we were told by Dyshana, the lady with the cyan hair, that we would be fight the Gods who created this world."

Marisa's eyes sparkled at the very thought of such a dynamic battle. "Were you scared?"

"I think everyone was intimidate by the thought of facing the very people who gave life to us. However, you father said that he not back down. Sometimes, he can be so hardheaded when he needs to. Thankfully, we had the help of his fathers and their wives from generations ago. With their help, we were able to bring this world to the state it is now."

Murmina said, flipping the page to a family picture that Rex wanted while his father and forefathers were still with them In the picture were Rex and Murmina in the center, Duran and Silvi to their right, Thoma and Noah to his left, Ladius and Yayoi to the far right and Leonhardt and Fyuria to the far left. Looking at one picture below the family portrait containing herself and Silvi, she can still remember the few conversations she had with Silvi about their husbands picking them when Silvi joked, saying that Duran and Rex have a wing fetish. Picture to the right of the wife shot were of Duran and Rex, having a heart to heart next to a small fire.

Below the two smaller ones was a picture of what Murmina believes is Ellis pulling a surprised Leonhardt and Rex into a shot while holding both their hands as if she had them both to herself. On the opposite page held two pictures on the top, one with the five Raglan men and the other holding the ladies chosen. Murmina will always remember the hours that she spent with Rex's ancestors as some of the happiest moment of her life, mostly due to having a family that accepted her for what she was… although she would make an exception for Rex's grandfather, Thoma who nearly forced her hand with a bullet in his skull.

The door to the house that Murmina and Marisa lived in slowly opened as the daughter looked over the portfolio to find her father walking into the door. She jumped from her position on Murmina's lap and ran over to Rex and jumped into his hands. Murmina smiled at the sight of her daughter being embraced by her husband as she put the book down.

"Dad, how was work today, when am I going to be able to start learning from you and Mom?" Marisa continued asking questions until Rex finally said something.

"Soon, Marisa. We will gladly teach you once your wings have fully matured." Rex said.

"How was work, Rex? I imagine the newest batch is interesting." Murmina asked, remembering that Rex's job is of the greatest weapons teacher for Aegisthus.

"They show some potential. Still, I am glad to be home where I belong." Rex said as a smile formed on Murmina's face.

"As am I."


End file.
